Solothurner Tagblatt enters place
Free death notices campaign extended until the end of June
Free death notices campaign extended until the end of JuneBy Markus Knöpfli The Solothurner Tagblatt, the latest split of the Berner Zeitung, is struggling to gain a foothold in the advertising market - despite free death notices and the "Four for two" campaign. Things should look better in the reader market.
WerbeWoche has surveyed the advertising volume of the Solothurner Tagblatt (ST) over the last three months. According to the survey, the ST averaged one third of a page per day in December, two fifths of a page per day in January and one third of a page in February. For comparison: In the first few weeks after its launch on October 20, 2001, the ST still managed a good half a page a day (see WW 38/01). BZ advertising manager Michael Seiler disagrees: from the start to the end of February, he counted around half a page per day. Either way, these figures also include repetitions resulting from the "Four for two" advertising campaign that has been running since the launch. In other words:
The paid advertising volume is much smaller.
The discrepancy between volume and revenue is even greater in the case of obituaries. Because the ST did not receive any obituaries in the first six weeks after its launch, it offered them free of charge in December - a promotion that was then extended until the end of January and has now even been extended until June 30. In fact, WerbeWoche was then able to count 8 local obituaries in December, 15 in January and 10 in February. Seiler, on the other hand, averaged two local obituaries per day.
BZ Publishing Director Franziska von Weissenfluh is in any case "satisfied, because we are at or above budget everywhere". Also in the reader market. The first tranche of six-monthly free subscriptions is currently in the conversion phase, "but we are surprised at the high conversion rate", she says. She is already certain that the continuation of ST early delivery can be justified in Solothurn, Biberist and Zuchwil thanks to a "sufficiently high subscriber density". The municipalities of Langendorf, Bellach, Lohn-Ammannseck, Luterbach and Oberdorf will soon also receive the ST by early delivery, which is why the circulation will increase from around 14,000 to 21,000 copies.
Thurgau subscription war
WerbeWoche has surveyed the advertising volume of the Solothurner Tagblatt (ST) over the last three months. According to the survey, the ST averaged one third of a page per day in December, two fifths of a page per day in January and one third of a page in February. For comparison: In the first few weeks after its launch on October 20, 2001, the ST still managed a good half a page a day (see WW 38/01). BZ advertising manager Michael Seiler disagrees: from the start to the end of February, he counted around half a page per day. Either way, these figures also include repetitions resulting from the "Four for two" advertising campaign that has been running since the launch. In other words:
The paid advertising volume is much smaller.
The discrepancy between volume and revenue is even greater in the case of obituaries. Because the ST did not receive any obituaries in the first six weeks after its launch, it offered them free of charge in December - a promotion that was then extended until the end of January and has now even been extended until June 30. In fact, WerbeWoche was then able to count 8 local obituaries in December, 15 in January and 10 in February. Seiler, on the other hand, averaged two local obituaries per day.
BZ Publishing Director Franziska von Weissenfluh is in any case "satisfied, because we are at or above budget everywhere". Also in the reader market. The first tranche of six-monthly free subscriptions is currently in the conversion phase, "but we are surprised at the high conversion rate", she says. She is already certain that the continuation of ST early delivery can be justified in Solothurn, Biberist and Zuchwil thanks to a "sufficiently high subscriber density". The municipalities of Langendorf, Bellach, Lohn-Ammannseck, Luterbach and Oberdorf will soon also receive the ST by early delivery, which is why the circulation will increase from around 14,000 to 21,000 copies.
Thurgau subscription war
The Thurgauer Zeitung has survived the first subscription renewal phase without a slump and, according to publishing director Urs Bucher, will have a slightly higher circulation certified than the 41188 copies a year ago. Its competitor Mittelthurgauer Tagblatt (MTT), the front page of the St. Galler Tagblatt (SGT) and also on the market since January 1, 2001, can only report 1800 annual subscriptions despite the autumn campaign. However, SGT publishing director Daniel Ehrat is hoping for a total of 2500 subscribers by the end of the year.
